Big Heart Bellambi bounces back!

Good news for op shoppers in the Illawarra. Mission Australia’s Big Heart store at 16 Bellambi Lane, Bellambi, is back in action!

Today’s re-opening signals a major turning point for the store since it was damaged in a devastating fire in March of this year.

As well as being the site of Mission Australia’s Soft Landing mattress recycling social enterprise, the Bellambi Big Heart retail store acts as a sorting and distribution depot for the six other Big Heart stores in the region as well as a bulk sales outlet.

As a result of the fire, much of the Big Heart stock as well as the mattresses were either destroyed by fire, smoke or water damage caused by sprinklers triggered during the blaze.

This necessitated a major drive for donations of goods suitable for sale at the Big Heart shops.

“We are so happy to finally re-open our doors,” Bill Dibley, NSW Operations Manager for Social Enterprise, said.

“The local community have been extremely supportive and our volunteer team have been unbelievable in cleaning up after the fire.”

“I thank them all for their comment and dedication.”

Clothing sold from Bellambi outlet is still only $7 a kilo, shoes $2 a pair and books can be purchased 5 for $2.

As ever, the Mission Australia is calling out for volunteers at all of its Big Heart sites in the Illawarra region – Warilla, Dapto, Wollongong or Thirroul – or even the Nowra and Campbelltown outlets. According to Mr Dibley, there are several volunteering opportunities available at some of the retail outlets including retail assistants, drivers, offsiders and sorters.

To find out more about volunteering opportunities, please call 1800 110 578 or email volunteering@missionaustralia.com.au.

Further reading

• ‘Big Heart rises from the ashes’
• ‘Big Heart cleans up after weekend fire’
• Soft Landing - a Mission Australia social business working towards sustainability
• Find the location of the Belambi store at the Google map below.
  

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Big Heart cleans up after weekend fire

Forty staff members and volunteers at Mission Australia’s Big Heart Enterprise centre in Bellambi, in the Illawarra, are taking part in a large-scale clean-up following Sunday morning’s arson attack.

The Bellambi site houses a warehouse, opportunity shop and the Soft Landing mattress recycling program, which strips old mattresses of recyclable parts such as metal, foam and timber.

The 4,000 square metre warehouse also stores thousands of items of clothing that supply seven Big Heart opportunity shops in the Illawarra and south-western Sydney.

The fire, which began when a stack of mattress frames caught alight around 4.30am on Sunday, triggered the internal fire system. While this helped to extinguish the fire, it also flooded most of the factory.

“Without the internal system we probably would have lost the full factory,” said Mission Australia’s Social Enterprise Operations Manager Bill Dibley.

Given the damage, the warehouse is currently not able to receive donated items.

Mr Dibley estimated that up to 200,000 items of clothing and 1,300 mattresses sustained smoke and water damage, complicating the usual recycling process.

“We’re now working hard to separate the foam that has melted into the springs,” said Mr Dilbey. “And because of the fire the process is taking about three times longer than usual.”

He added that his team spent the whole day on site on Sunday, taking five truckloads of burnt rubbish to the tip and cleaning the building in order to resume normal operations and fulfil contracts.

Police believe the blaze was deliberately lit and are examining CCTV footage captured at the store.

Media Release: Mission Australia opens its heart in Campbelltown

Mission Australia has launched a new Financial Education, Counselling and Community hub in Campbelltown this week.

This new support service gives locals the chance to buy brand new clothes and furnishings at a fraction of the retail price and access a range of community services from financial education and general counselling services, to training opportunities for the local unemployed.

Citi Australia provided the seed funding for the new hub, meeting the substantial cost of setting up the new programs and the facility. Stephen Roberts, Citi Country Officer for Citi Australia, officially opened the hub today.

“Financial education and supporting the Australian community are ongoing priorities for us at Citi,” said Mr Roberts.

“We are delighted to be working with Mission Australia on such a worthwhile project. Supporting people with financial education and access to affordable everyday items will make a big difference to many lives in the Campbelltown area. Supporting Mission Australia is a way we at Citi Australia can really help at a grass roots level – we look forward to working together.”

Mission Australia Operations Manager for Social Enterprise Bill Dibley said that the new hub incorporates a Big Heart retail store and would have many benefits for the local community – both those simply looking for a bargain as well as people in need of a helping hand.

“With increasing pressure on individual and family income from rises in interest rates, utilities and the cost of food, the availability of affordable clothing and furniture in the area will greatly assist locals. And since the lion’s share of clothing we sell is surplus stock from the major retailers, this means we have brand new clothes on offer at a fraction of the retail price,” said Mr Dibley.

“But the real beauty of this new hub is the social impact for the local community.

“The money from the Big Heart retail sales will directly fund the financial education programs we offer in the hub, so for example a parent can be taught how to develop an effective budget to avoid the situation of struggling to meet their bills.

“There is also a counsellor on-site to assist people with personal issues such as a relationship breakdown, or the loss of a loved one. In our experience people are often facing multiple issues so by taking a holistic approach, the outcome is better.

“And importantly in an area like Campbelltown, which has a higher than average rate of unemployment, the retail store provides a volunteering, training and employment opportunity for people who are unemployed. We are currently training and up skilling our 30 strong team of volunteers, and we’ve already taken on one of the volunteers as a Mission Australia employee.

“Whether someone is unemployed, has just gone through a relationship breakdown, or is in financial difficulty – by dropping in to the community hub here, we will be able to help you,” Mr Dibley concluded.

The Big Heart Enterprise was established in the Illawarra region 20 years ago to help raise funds for a local Mission Australia Youth Accommodation service. Over the years, Big Heart has grown to include six retail outlets, 13 full-time staff, and about 180 volunteers. Each store provides high quality, low cost clothing and furnishings to the public.

All money raised at the Campbelltown Big Heart store will fund the financial education and counselling position – ensuring the profits are 100 per cent returned to, and directly assisting, the local community. The new hub is located at: 5 Harbord Road, Campbelltown.

For further information about the services come and visit the site or call Big Heart on Tel: 02 4620 0007 or Financial Education, Counselling and Community Hub on Tel: 02 4620 0201.

Media contact: 
Sally Popplestone
Mob: 0415 547 626
email: popplestones@missionaustralia.com.au

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About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include Citibank.

Find out more about Citi’s support of Mission Australia here.

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Big Heart is moving to Campbelltown!

Mission Australia’s social enterprise retail outlet, Big Heart, is due to open its first Sydney location in Campbelltown this November.

Big Heart was established in the Illawarra 19 years ago to help raise funds for local Mission Australia services.

What originally began as a traditional 'op-shop' venture has grown into five retail outlets (throughout Illawarra and Shoalhaven), ten full-time staff members and more than 150 volunteers that provides more than just high quality, low cost clothing and furnishings to the public.

Big Heart also gives unemployed people on-the-job training in industries including warehousing, upholstery, retail and administration.

Big Heart’s Campbelltown branch will incorporate Mission Australia’s south western Sydney financial counselling services in the one location to ensure long-term sustainability of the service.

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The proposed location will be on the corner of Campbelltown Road and Harbord Street.

Final contact details will be updated in October.

Please visit www.missionaustralia.com.au/big-heart for further details.